The Nigeria Police Force has late reacted to the judgment delivered earlier on Tuesday by Justice Mobolaji Olajuwon of the Federal High Court, Abuja that sentenced the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba to three months in jail for contempt.
Justice Olajuwon issued the order following the alleged hesitance of the police hierarchy to heed a court order to restore a former police officer, Patrick Okoli, who claimed he was wrongfully dismissed from the Police.
Mr Okoli claimed that he was forcefully retired in June 1992 prompting him to seek relief in the courts. A Bauchi high court on February 19, 1994, delivered judgment in favor of the applicant and quashed the letter of compulsory retirement. Reacting to the sentencing, the spokesperson of the Police Force CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said that the office of the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba Alkali, did not disregard a court order or rule of law as it was not aware of it.
The police statement on the jail order handed the IGP read in part:
“It is instructive to note that the case in point concerns an officer who was dismissed as far back as 1992, a few years after the current IGP joined the Nigeria Police Force, based on available facts gleaned from the reports.
The most recent judgement on the matter was given in 2011 which should ordinarily not fall under the direct purview of the current administration of the Force. Thus, the news is strange and astonishing.
The IGP has however directed the Commissioner of Police in charge of the Force Legal Unit to investigate the allegation in a bid to ascertain the position of the court and proffer informed legal advice for the IGP’s prompt and necessary action.
The Inspector-General of Police reiterates his commitment to upholding the rule of law and synergizing with the judiciary to ensure quick dispensation of justice for an improved criminal justice system.”